PUBLIC NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR COASTAL WETLANDS PERMIT AND WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION The Department of Marine Resources, Office of Coastal Resources Management, Deputy Director has filed an application with the Department of Marine Resources requesting permission to conduct regulated activities under the provision of the Coastal Wetlands Protection Act, Title 49, Chapter 27, Mississippi Code of 1972. The applicant is proposing to for the protection, restoration, and expansion of Round Island. Of this acreage, 143 acres will remain as beach habitat, 75 acres will be constructed as vegetated dune / high-dune habitat, and 36 acres will be planted as maritime forest. One 6-acre swale pond will be created between existing and new maritime forest areas. Rock breakwaters will create 14 acres of submerged hardbottom habitat and will protect the expansion area and highly erosive sections of shoreline. Living shoreline reef habitat structures will create an additional 3 acres of submergent and emergent reef habitat. Total project impacts also include dredging a total of 319 acres from 4 proposed borrow areas with anticipated dredge depths of up to approximately 15 feet below the sea floor. Two temporary access channels totaling 33 acres from a depth of 5 feet at MLT to a depth of 15 feet at MLT are included to provide deep-water access to the existing island for mobilization and staging. The proposed project will take place in the Mississippi Sound, offshore of Pascagoula, Jackson County, MS. The applicant will be required to request a variance to 22 Miss. Admin. Code, Pt. 23, R. 8.18.D which states "The dredging/excavation process must avoid creating sinks or sumps." The applicant will have to justify this request under 22 Miss. Admin. Code, Pt. 23, R. 8.19 This public notice, project diagrams, and a copy of the full project application may be accessed on MDMR's website at. https://dmr.ms.gov/permitting/. A copy can also be mailed upon request. In compliance with Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251, 1341), as amended by PL 95-217, the applicant will request certification from the Office of Pollution Control that the above mentioned activity will be in compliance with applicable provisions of Section 301 (33 U.S.C. 1311), Section 302 (33 U.S.C. 1312), Section 303 (U.S.C. 1313), Section 306 (U.S.C. 1316), and Section 307 (U.S.C. 1317) of the Act and appropriate requirements of the State Law. Any person wishing to make comments or objections to the proposed regulated activity must submit those comments in writing to the Department of Marine Resources by mail to 1141 Bayview Avenue, Biloxi, Mississippi 39530; by fax to 228-374-5008; or by email to alicia.carron@dmr.ms.gov before 1:00 p.m. on April 7, 2026. IPL0324413 Mar 22 2026